The Arthur Ashe Stadium was packed with 23 spectators on Sunday, hoping to see a local tennis player win for the first time in 23 years. But they were faced with a harsh reality, as Alexander Zverev is much better than Ben Shelton.

This is shown by the final score of 3-1 (6-3, 7-6, 5-7 and 6-2), a meeting that lasted 3 hours and 36 minutes, but also by the statistics before the match. The five previous encounters between them had ended with the victory of the German, who had won 10 sets in a row. Thanks to the triumph in June on the clay courts at “Roland Garros”, Zverev is a different player, he comes more liberated and with less pressure on his shoulders.

In such a situation, it was unlikely that the German would have lost the 2020 New York final to Dominic Thiem, after winning the first two sets. The winner was so tense that he did not immediately realize that he had won against Shelton. After the point that gave him the eighth game of the fourth set, he prepared to return to the game as the host. Only the incredible noise of the audience made him realize that the match was over and that the title was his.

Since Andy Roddick in 2003, no American has come close to lifting the trophy. Neither did Andre Agassi or Roddick in 2005 and 2006, when they were defeated by Roger Federer. Similarly, Taylor Fritz lost the final two years ago to Jannik Sinner. It has been 8.407 days since Andy Roddick's triumph, and it looks like it will be many more. Shelton also lost his most powerful weapon early on: his first serve. If he wasn't reliable with his best shot, there wasn't much he could do.

In the semifinals, against compatriot Frances Tiafoe, he had recorded the fastest serve in Grand Slam history. But the nervousness of a major final is something else entirely. He was paying the price for his lack of experience at these levels. On the other hand, Sascha, like almost the entire men's tennis circuit, knows well the American from Atlanta's weakness in the backhand. It was on that side that the German repeatedly attacked him.

The already deafening noise in the main stadium of the Billie Jean King Tennis Center was somewhat more bearable thanks to the fact that the rain temporarily stopped and the match could be played under the open roof. No one has won more matches than Zverev in 2026: a whopping 53, including 25 in major tournaments. He becomes the tenth tennis player to justify his status as the number one favorite in the Open era, since 1968.

Winning the tie-break in the second set significantly accelerated the flow towards the end, despite Shelton briefly leaving for the locker room. It is difficult to win a final when you do not create any opportunities for a break until 2 hours and 19 minutes of play. Ben, inferior in the game from the end of the court, went on a total attack, constantly climbing to the net. The new tactic paid off, because the opponent began to feel the pressure and what in tennis is known as stage fright. In tennis, you have to take the initiative, while the player from Hamburg was offering nothing. But, a first break at the beginning of the fourth set helped Zverev calm his nerves, while the American was left without energy. Thus, everything ended with the celebration of the German Zverev, who raised the US Open trophy and his second Grand Slam title for the first time in his career.

The last success was 23 years ago, when Andy Roddick lifted the prestigious trophy.